Electric Sign. (open access)

Electric Sign.

Patent for an electric sign, which lights up each letter individually and turns them all off at the same time after being on a short while.
Date: May 24, 1910
Creator: Miller, Leonard
System: The Portal to Texas History
Cotton Picker (open access)

Cotton Picker

Patent for a cotton picker. This invention consists is a "pneumatic apparatus for conveying cotton when picked from the plant, and comprises a suction-fan and casing therefor, which latter has pipes and through which air is drawn" (lines 15-19). Illustration included.
Date: May 24, 1904
Creator: Bennie, William
System: The Portal to Texas History
Automatic Cork Extractor. (open access)

Automatic Cork Extractor.

Patent for a new and improved automatic cork extractor. This design "consists, principally, of a vertically-moving and partially-rotating blade having a harpoon-shaped or shouldered head for piercing and drawing the corks; in laterally opening and closing jaws for holding the necks of the bottles; in pivoted and laterally-moving pointed levers for throwing the parts of the corks away from the blade when withdrawn, and in the construction and combination of the parts of the device" (lines 14-23).
Date: May 24, 1881
Creator: Clark, Chester Cady
System: The Portal to Texas History